Below are some activities for you to do at home. First I have listed activities that do not require a computer or tablet. If you keep scrolling down the page, you will find activities and games to try online. Have fun!
"At Home" Music Activities
No computer or tablet needed!
Teach your family how to play "the key game!" Hide a small object. Choose a song your family knows and sing it using DYNAMICS to help the seeker find it! Sing forte when they are close to the object and piano when they are far away.
Listen to music on the radio. Keep the steady beat. Change how/where you keep the beat.
Musical Mirrors - Choose any music and sit or stand across from a family member. One of you leads the movement and the other follows. Take turns being the leader. Make sure your movements match the movement - you want your partner to be able to follow you exactly!
Move and Freeze! Choose any music and dance while it’s playing - then have someone randomly pause it! Everytime the music pauses you have to freeze like a statue! You can even have someone call out how you have to freeze (like a tree, a dinosaur, etc.). No talking, even as the music plays!
If you have scarves or ribbons, you can create a fun scarf dance. Follow the form of the song - change how you move your scarf when the music changes.
Listen and Draw! Find some music and some crayons - as you listen, draw what the music makes you think of.
Have a conversation with someone in your family - but you can’t talk! ONlysing!
Find two puppets - they are from the “Land of Sing” - they must sing everything to each other!
Go outside and keep the beat while jumping rope, while bouncing a ball, while jumping on a trampoline.
Bounce a ball, or jump rope, or step the pulse of a whole note - a half note - a quarter note - eighth notes and sixteenth notes.
Cut a long piece of string or yarn. Make different shapes with it on the floor. Trace the shape with your finger and follow it with your voice.
Have play-doh? Use it to mold rhythms! Chant or play the rhythms you create!
Write a rhythm chain using words having to do with Spring. Perform it using different body percussion (snapping, clapping, patting and stomping).
Make candy bar rhythms or pantry rhythms. Cut out the names of food or wrappers from your recycling bin. Tape them in a row on paper and notate the rhythm for each word below.
Roll a dice...Write a rhythm/s that would add up to that number. For example, if you roll a 2 - you could write 2 quarter notes, 1 half note, 4 eighth notes or 8 sixteenth notes.
Practice notating Pitch patterns. Draw a two line staff (first grade) or a five lines across an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper. Use bottle caps, or cut out circles to serve as note heads. Make patterns of skipping, stepping and repeating notes and then sing the patterns using your hand signs.First graders practice Sol, La and Mi Second Graders - work on Sol, La and Mi, Re, Do Third through Fifth Graders - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
Teach your family the song (and moves) to Oh My Aunt Came Back!
Timbuktu - wooden shoe
Old Japan - waving fan
Old Algiers - pair of shears
Guadalupe - hula hoop
County Fair - rocking chair
City Zoo - nuts like you!
Use pretzel sticks to write rhythm patterns - just like we do with popsicle sticks in class!
How many different patterns can you make? How long can you make one pattern?
If you don’t have pretzel sticks - use craft sticks, play-doh, crayons.
Write rhythm patterns or pitch patterns on the driveway with sidewalk chalk! Write words to go with your pattern and then perform your chant!
Create an instrument out of found objects.
With Easter approaching, you may have empty plastic eggs - make egg shakers! (ask permission first) Fill the eggs with popcorn kernels, dry beans, or beads, put a piece of tape around the seal and play the beat or create a rhythm pattern as you listen to your favorite song! You can make maracas the same way - use empty/dry water bottles.
Listen to the music around you (on tv, in shows and commercials, on the radio)
Think about what you hear…
What is the dynamic? What instruments do you hear? Is it major or minor? What is the form?
Have legos?
Make a pattern with the bricks.
Create a short body percussion rhythm for each color brick.
Perform it!
Go on a musical scavenger hunt. Find the following:
Something that makes a high sound.
Something that makes a low sound.
Something that makes a short sound.
Something that makes a long sound.
Something that changes sound.
Something that rings.
Something that rattles or shakes.
Something that scrapes.
Something that makes a loud sound.
Something that makes a soft sound.
Something that is wood.
Something that is metal.
Something that you can pluck.
Something that you can tap.
"ONLINE" Musical Activities
Suggestions from Mrs. Russell and other ZPS elementary music teachers!
Websites (all FREE):
MusicPlayOnline (good for all grades): https://musicplayonline.com/
Do not create an account. Use the provided username and password. They should be posted on the mainpage of the site. If you need help/can'tf find them - email me! ([email protected])
Carnegie Hall Link Up (4th grade students have learned the entire “Orchestra Sings” music and can sing and play along with the SoundCloud - the entire student guide is available on the right hand side of the page)):
https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Educators/Link-Up/Resources/The-Orchestra-Sings
Listening Adventures (best for gr. 3-5): https://listeningadventures.carnegiehall.org/ (play “Local Game”)
Classics For Kids (best for gr. 3-5): https://www.classicsforkids.com/
Chrome Music Lab (fun for all to play around with!): https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments
Groove Pizza App (best for gr. 4-5): https://mathsciencemusic.org/
Quaver Music (all grades): https://www.quavermusic.com/info/
OK Go Sandbox (activities are mostly for older students, but there are some for the younger grades, too. : https://okgosandbox.org/
YouTube channels
*** PLEASE REMEMBER to use good judgment when on YouTube! Sometimes ads will pop up for content that you need to be careful about. It’s always good to have parent guidance when accessing these channels. ***
Hello Friends! I miss seeing you at school. Below are some activities for you to do at home. First I listed activities that do not require a computer or tablet. If you keep scrolling down the page, you will find activities and games to try on your computer or tablet. Have fun! I can't wait to see you again! Love, Mrs. Russell
"At Home" Music Activities
No computer or tablet needed!
Teach your family how to play the “key” game! Hide a small object. Choose a song your family knows and sing it using DYNAMICS to help the seeker find it! Sing forte when they are close to the object and piano when they are far away.
Listen to music on the radio. Keep the steady beat. Change how you keep the beat.
Musical Mirrors - Choose any music and sit or stand across from a family member. One of you leads the movement and the other follows. Take turns being the leader. Make sure your movements match the movement - you want your partner to be able to follow you exactly!
Move and Freeze! Choose any music and dance while it’s playing - then have someone randomly pause it! Everytime the music pauses you have to freeze like a statue! You can even have someone call out how you have to freeze (like a tree, a dinosaur, etc.). No talking, even as the music plays!
If you have scarves or ribbons, you can create a fun scarf dance. Follow the form of the song - change how you move your scarf when the music changes.
Listen and Draw! Find some music and some crayons - as you listen, draw what the music makes you think of.
Have a conversation with someone in your family - but you can’t talk! Just sing!
Find two puppets - they are from the “Land of Sing” - they must sing everything to each other!
Go outside and keep the beat while jumping rope, while bouncing a ball, while jumping on a trampoline.
Bounce a ball, or jump rope, or just step the pulse of a whole note - a half note - a quarter note - eighth notes and/or sixteenth notes.
Cut a long piece of string or yarn. Make different shapes with it on the floor. Trace the shape with your finger and follow it with your voice.
Have play-doh? Use it to mold rhythms! Chant or play the rhythms you create!
Write a rhythm chain using words having to do with Spring. Perform it using different body percussion (snapping, clapping, patting and stomping).
Make candy bar rhythms or pantry rhythms. Cut out the names of food or wrappers from your recycling bin. Tape them in a row on paper and notate the rhythm for each word below.
Roll a dice...Write a rhythm/s that would add up to that number. For example, if you roll a 2 - you could write 2 quarter notes, 1 half note, 4 eighth notes or 8 sixteenth notes.
Practice notating Pitch patterns. Draw a two line staff (first grade) or a five lines across an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper. Use bottle caps, or cut out circles to serve as note heads. Make patterns of skipping, stepping and repeating notes and then sing the patterns using your hand signs.First graders practice Sol, La and Mi Second Graders - work on Sol, La and Mi, Re, Do Third through Fifth Graders - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
Teach your family the song (and moves) to Oh my Aunt Came Back!
Timbuktu - wooden shoe
Old Japan - waving fan
Old Algiers - pair of shears
Guadalupe - hula hoop
County Fair - rocking chair
City Zoo - nuts like you!
Use pretzel sticks to write rhythm patterns - just like we do with popsicle sticks in class!
How many different patterns can you make? How long can you make one pattern?
If you don’t have pretzel sticks - use craft sticks, play-doh, crayons.
Write rhythm patterns or pitch patterns on the driveway with sidewalk chalk! Write words to go with your pattern and then perform your chant!
Create an instrument out of found objects.
With Easter approaching, you may have empty plastic eggs - make egg shakers! (ask permission first) Fill the eggs with popcorn kernels, dry beans, or beads, put a piece of tape around the seal and play the beat or create a rhythm pattern as you listen to your favorite song! You can make maracas the same way - use empty/dry water bottles.
Listen to the music around you (on tv, in shows and commercials, on the radio)
Think about what you hear…
What is the dynamic? What instruments do you hear? Is it major or minor? What is the form?
Have legos?
Make a pattern with the bricks.
Create a short body percussion rhythm for each color brick.
Perform it!
Go on a musical scavenger hunt. Find the following:
Something that makes a high sound.
Something that makes a low sound.
Something that makes a short sound.
Something that makes a long sound.
Something that changes sound.
Something that rings.
Something that rattles or shakes.
Something that scrapes.
Something that makes a loud sound.
Something that makes a soft sound.
Something that is wood.
Something that is metal.
Something that you can pluck.
Something that you can tap.
"At Home" Music Activities
No computer or tablet needed!
Teach your family how to play "the key game!" Hide a small object. Choose a song your family knows and sing it using DYNAMICS to help the seeker find it! Sing forte when they are close to the object and piano when they are far away.
Listen to music on the radio. Keep the steady beat. Change how/where you keep the beat.
Musical Mirrors - Choose any music and sit or stand across from a family member. One of you leads the movement and the other follows. Take turns being the leader. Make sure your movements match the movement - you want your partner to be able to follow you exactly!
Move and Freeze! Choose any music and dance while it’s playing - then have someone randomly pause it! Everytime the music pauses you have to freeze like a statue! You can even have someone call out how you have to freeze (like a tree, a dinosaur, etc.). No talking, even as the music plays!
If you have scarves or ribbons, you can create a fun scarf dance. Follow the form of the song - change how you move your scarf when the music changes.
Listen and Draw! Find some music and some crayons - as you listen, draw what the music makes you think of.
Have a conversation with someone in your family - but you can’t talk! ONlysing!
Find two puppets - they are from the “Land of Sing” - they must sing everything to each other!
Go outside and keep the beat while jumping rope, while bouncing a ball, while jumping on a trampoline.
Bounce a ball, or jump rope, or step the pulse of a whole note - a half note - a quarter note - eighth notes and sixteenth notes.
Cut a long piece of string or yarn. Make different shapes with it on the floor. Trace the shape with your finger and follow it with your voice.
Have play-doh? Use it to mold rhythms! Chant or play the rhythms you create!
Write a rhythm chain using words having to do with Spring. Perform it using different body percussion (snapping, clapping, patting and stomping).
Make candy bar rhythms or pantry rhythms. Cut out the names of food or wrappers from your recycling bin. Tape them in a row on paper and notate the rhythm for each word below.
Roll a dice...Write a rhythm/s that would add up to that number. For example, if you roll a 2 - you could write 2 quarter notes, 1 half note, 4 eighth notes or 8 sixteenth notes.
Practice notating Pitch patterns. Draw a two line staff (first grade) or a five lines across an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper. Use bottle caps, or cut out circles to serve as note heads. Make patterns of skipping, stepping and repeating notes and then sing the patterns using your hand signs.First graders practice Sol, La and Mi Second Graders - work on Sol, La and Mi, Re, Do Third through Fifth Graders - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
Teach your family the song (and moves) to Oh My Aunt Came Back!
Timbuktu - wooden shoe
Old Japan - waving fan
Old Algiers - pair of shears
Guadalupe - hula hoop
County Fair - rocking chair
City Zoo - nuts like you!
Use pretzel sticks to write rhythm patterns - just like we do with popsicle sticks in class!
How many different patterns can you make? How long can you make one pattern?
If you don’t have pretzel sticks - use craft sticks, play-doh, crayons.
Write rhythm patterns or pitch patterns on the driveway with sidewalk chalk! Write words to go with your pattern and then perform your chant!
Create an instrument out of found objects.
With Easter approaching, you may have empty plastic eggs - make egg shakers! (ask permission first) Fill the eggs with popcorn kernels, dry beans, or beads, put a piece of tape around the seal and play the beat or create a rhythm pattern as you listen to your favorite song! You can make maracas the same way - use empty/dry water bottles.
Listen to the music around you (on tv, in shows and commercials, on the radio)
Think about what you hear…
What is the dynamic? What instruments do you hear? Is it major or minor? What is the form?
Have legos?
Make a pattern with the bricks.
Create a short body percussion rhythm for each color brick.
Perform it!
Go on a musical scavenger hunt. Find the following:
Something that makes a high sound.
Something that makes a low sound.
Something that makes a short sound.
Something that makes a long sound.
Something that changes sound.
Something that rings.
Something that rattles or shakes.
Something that scrapes.
Something that makes a loud sound.
Something that makes a soft sound.
Something that is wood.
Something that is metal.
Something that you can pluck.
Something that you can tap.
"ONLINE" Musical Activities
Suggestions from Mrs. Russell and other ZPS elementary music teachers!
Websites (all FREE):
MusicPlayOnline (good for all grades): https://musicplayonline.com/
Do not create an account. Use the provided username and password. They should be posted on the mainpage of the site. If you need help/can'tf find them - email me! ([email protected])
Carnegie Hall Link Up (4th grade students have learned the entire “Orchestra Sings” music and can sing and play along with the SoundCloud - the entire student guide is available on the right hand side of the page)):
https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Educators/Link-Up/Resources/The-Orchestra-Sings
Listening Adventures (best for gr. 3-5): https://listeningadventures.carnegiehall.org/ (play “Local Game”)
Classics For Kids (best for gr. 3-5): https://www.classicsforkids.com/
Chrome Music Lab (fun for all to play around with!): https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments
- Check this link out for a tutorial on the Song Maker experiment. .https://youtu.be/hHm-d-yso3
Groove Pizza App (best for gr. 4-5): https://mathsciencemusic.org/
- Open the website (even the letters on the homepage play music!) and scroll down to find “Groove Pizza”.
- Click on “Groove Pizza App” on the right hand side (under “Resources”)
- Clicking on at least three of the dots in the big circle on the page will form shapes in the “pizza,” and once you press PLAY, the music sounds!
- Play around with which dots you want to fill; clicking on “specials” and “shapes” on the left hand side will give you “premade” pizzas.
- Clicking on the bottom left corner (Volume, BPM, Swing, Slices) will give you more options. The “Angle” circle will give you the mathematical measurements of the angles you made!
- Click on “try web version”.
- The point of the game is to create cool beatboxing patterns/loops. We have to “dress” the man by dragging hats onto him, he gets dressed and has his own special song to sing.
- Find the secret combination and unlock the circles at the top of the screen!
Quaver Music (all grades): https://www.quavermusic.com/info/
- Click on “sign up” (upper right corner, purple box)
- Create a new account, and use the code HOME20 to finish creating the account.
- You can choose activities that use Flash Player (there are fun games in the Arcade!) or not (many cool interactives in the Dashboard, too).
OK Go Sandbox (activities are mostly for older students, but there are some for the younger grades, too. : https://okgosandbox.org/
- There are four music videos featured, and each video has a series of science and arts related experiments. Some of the challenges require the Google Science Journal app (free to download) that will help students use various sensors to explore the world around them. Enjoy becoming young musical scientists! (By the way, if all you do is watch the music videos, that’s OK too!)
YouTube channels
*** PLEASE REMEMBER to use good judgment when on YouTube! Sometimes ads will pop up for content that you need to be careful about. It’s always good to have parent guidance when accessing these channels. ***
- All grades:
- DoodleChaos (line riders and kinetic art to watch)
- Musication (search for videos titled “percussion” to play along with)
- Kaboom Percussion (entertaining videos to watch)
- 1st and 2nd grade
- Koo Koo Kanga Roo (includes dance-along and sing-along videos)
- GoNoodle (good for movement, call-and-response)
- The Laurie Berkner Band (good for movement)
Hello Friends! I miss seeing you at school. Below are some activities for you to do at home. First I listed activities that do not require a computer or tablet. If you keep scrolling down the page, you will find activities and games to try on your computer or tablet. Have fun! I can't wait to see you again! Love, Mrs. Russell
"At Home" Music Activities
No computer or tablet needed!
Teach your family how to play the “key” game! Hide a small object. Choose a song your family knows and sing it using DYNAMICS to help the seeker find it! Sing forte when they are close to the object and piano when they are far away.
Listen to music on the radio. Keep the steady beat. Change how you keep the beat.
Musical Mirrors - Choose any music and sit or stand across from a family member. One of you leads the movement and the other follows. Take turns being the leader. Make sure your movements match the movement - you want your partner to be able to follow you exactly!
Move and Freeze! Choose any music and dance while it’s playing - then have someone randomly pause it! Everytime the music pauses you have to freeze like a statue! You can even have someone call out how you have to freeze (like a tree, a dinosaur, etc.). No talking, even as the music plays!
If you have scarves or ribbons, you can create a fun scarf dance. Follow the form of the song - change how you move your scarf when the music changes.
Listen and Draw! Find some music and some crayons - as you listen, draw what the music makes you think of.
Have a conversation with someone in your family - but you can’t talk! Just sing!
Find two puppets - they are from the “Land of Sing” - they must sing everything to each other!
Go outside and keep the beat while jumping rope, while bouncing a ball, while jumping on a trampoline.
Bounce a ball, or jump rope, or just step the pulse of a whole note - a half note - a quarter note - eighth notes and/or sixteenth notes.
Cut a long piece of string or yarn. Make different shapes with it on the floor. Trace the shape with your finger and follow it with your voice.
Have play-doh? Use it to mold rhythms! Chant or play the rhythms you create!
Write a rhythm chain using words having to do with Spring. Perform it using different body percussion (snapping, clapping, patting and stomping).
Make candy bar rhythms or pantry rhythms. Cut out the names of food or wrappers from your recycling bin. Tape them in a row on paper and notate the rhythm for each word below.
Roll a dice...Write a rhythm/s that would add up to that number. For example, if you roll a 2 - you could write 2 quarter notes, 1 half note, 4 eighth notes or 8 sixteenth notes.
Practice notating Pitch patterns. Draw a two line staff (first grade) or a five lines across an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper. Use bottle caps, or cut out circles to serve as note heads. Make patterns of skipping, stepping and repeating notes and then sing the patterns using your hand signs.First graders practice Sol, La and Mi Second Graders - work on Sol, La and Mi, Re, Do Third through Fifth Graders - Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
Teach your family the song (and moves) to Oh my Aunt Came Back!
Timbuktu - wooden shoe
Old Japan - waving fan
Old Algiers - pair of shears
Guadalupe - hula hoop
County Fair - rocking chair
City Zoo - nuts like you!
Use pretzel sticks to write rhythm patterns - just like we do with popsicle sticks in class!
How many different patterns can you make? How long can you make one pattern?
If you don’t have pretzel sticks - use craft sticks, play-doh, crayons.
Write rhythm patterns or pitch patterns on the driveway with sidewalk chalk! Write words to go with your pattern and then perform your chant!
Create an instrument out of found objects.
With Easter approaching, you may have empty plastic eggs - make egg shakers! (ask permission first) Fill the eggs with popcorn kernels, dry beans, or beads, put a piece of tape around the seal and play the beat or create a rhythm pattern as you listen to your favorite song! You can make maracas the same way - use empty/dry water bottles.
Listen to the music around you (on tv, in shows and commercials, on the radio)
Think about what you hear…
What is the dynamic? What instruments do you hear? Is it major or minor? What is the form?
Have legos?
Make a pattern with the bricks.
Create a short body percussion rhythm for each color brick.
Perform it!
Go on a musical scavenger hunt. Find the following:
Something that makes a high sound.
Something that makes a low sound.
Something that makes a short sound.
Something that makes a long sound.
Something that changes sound.
Something that rings.
Something that rattles or shakes.
Something that scrapes.
Something that makes a loud sound.
Something that makes a soft sound.
Something that is wood.
Something that is metal.
Something that you can pluck.
Something that you can tap.